The reality is that no one knows when he'll be back, including Witten.

"I'm just going to take it a day at a time," Witten said according to DallasCowboys.com on Thursday. "Obviously, I'd be hard-pressed to imagine not being out there against the Giants. But there's no timetable right now."

It's a good sign Witten was able to watch Dallas' practice Thursday and that he's speaking to reporters. He says the pain isn't too bad.

"It's hard ... just thinking about sitting in that hotel when the team is working," Witten said. "It's a challenge. Ultimately, it's the best thing you can do for the team. We've got plenty of guys to pick up the slack. That's not a concern. For me, I think it's just get healthy as quickly as you can. We'll regroup when we get back to Dallas."

Witten has been instructed to rest 7 to 10 days. After that it's anyone's guess how quickly he can recover.